Hellobee

The 4th of July is right around the corner, and what better way to celebrate than with some fun arts and crafts! Since Little SB is 2 years old, she’s more interested in arts & crafts activities and I don’t worry about her trying to eat the art supplies. She still tends to make a mess because she is constantly moving, but that comes with the toddler territory. As I looked through Pinterest, I found some adorable T-shirt ideas. I picked out six that I thought were doable with young kids. Some of them you might need more than one adult to help. This might be a good project to do with a group of mommy friends so you have some help as you try to get wiggly fingers to stay still, or the kids can go play while you take turns doing the project with each child.

 Handprint T-shirt  |  Handprint Flag T-shirt  |  Handprint Firecracker T-shirt
DIY Eraser Stamped T-shirt  |  Sponge Painted T-shirt  | Pipe Cleaner Firework T-shirt

All of these projects seemed fairly easy but I feel like the bottom 3 projects are better suited for older kids who can follow directions and work independently, whereas the top 3 can be for both younger and older kids.

I don’t know about you but I love handprints and footprints of my daughter. There’s something about them that makes me just want to give her a hug and smother her with kisses. So if there’s ever a project where I can get a handprint or footprint made, I do it in a heartbeat! Normally I dress up Little SB in red, white and blue but I thought it would be fun to try out the Handprint Flag T-shirt for her 4th of July outfit.

I purchased a white shirt and tank top from Target and also bought the Tulip brand fabric paint from Michaels. Then I washed and dried the shirts and gathered all my supplies (wipes, paints, sponge brush, paper plates and a piece of cardboard). You have to make sure you insert a piece of cardboard inside the shirt so that the colors don’t seep through.

I’ve never put paint on Little SB’s hand before so she did not want it anywhere near her. I had to first put some paint on my hand before she let me put it on hers. I had to put globs of paint on it and quickly press it down on the shirt before she started trying to put the paint everywhere else. If your child’s hand is wiggly, you might want to do a practice run on a piece of paper. I didn’t do that so her print is a little bit messy, but I cleaned it up later with a small paint brush. I then took the sponge paint brush and pressed the red stripes on. If you try to paint it on with brush strokes, the shirt starts to drag and it looks like a mess. After the stripes are done, you have to leave it to dry for a couple of hours. Once it’s dry, it’s recommended you heat set it so that the colors won’t run the next time you wash the shirt. I really like the way it turned out and can’t wait for her to wear it for the 4th of July!

Do you have a favorite 4th of July craft?